Hey TFP community. We've been using our autocover as a winter cover in Maryland. While winterized this year, we experienced flooding rains and quite a bit of muddy run-off ran into the pool. I drained off the excess water back below the tile, but the remaining water was very mirky. It eventually settled out, and now I am left with greenish water with a layer of mud on the bottom. It scatters easily when brushed. What's the best plan of attack for opening? Should I run my Dolphin now and try to filter out as much mud as possible? Should I open and then use the pool pump to vac to waste? Or should I hire a pool company to use a deck vac to vac to waste prior to opening? Or can I just open as I would normally and let the pool filter clean up the water? Appreciate any advice as this is only my second year opening.
Dealing with mud run-off over winter
- Thread starter MDguy
- Start date
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,993
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Vacuuming the bulk to waste very slooowly is the best idea. You may need to do this then let it settle & do it again repeating until you have gotten most of the sludge/mud from the bottom.
I imagine the dolphin will get overwhelmed quickly and mostly stir it up if there’s quite a bit.
You’ll need to do the
SLAM Process too so get a good supply of fresh liquid chlorine to have on hand as well. We usually recommend 10 gallons to start.
The more organic material you remove the less chlorine you’ll run through. After the bulk is removed manually then you can rely on your dolphin & filter more. Be prepared to clean your filter often. (When pressure rises 25% over clean pressure)
If you don’t have a proper test kit (Taylor k2006 or tf100/pro are the only ones we recommend) get one on order now as you can’t do the slam process without it.
You could certainly pay someone to clean the debris more quickly but you’ll still need to do the slam process to eradicate your algae.
What kind of filter do you have?
Do you have the fine pleated filters for your dolphin?
I imagine the dolphin will get overwhelmed quickly and mostly stir it up if there’s quite a bit.
You’ll need to do the
SLAM Process too so get a good supply of fresh liquid chlorine to have on hand as well. We usually recommend 10 gallons to start.
The more organic material you remove the less chlorine you’ll run through. After the bulk is removed manually then you can rely on your dolphin & filter more. Be prepared to clean your filter often. (When pressure rises 25% over clean pressure)
If you don’t have a proper test kit (Taylor k2006 or tf100/pro are the only ones we recommend) get one on order now as you can’t do the slam process without it.
You could certainly pay someone to clean the debris more quickly but you’ll still need to do the slam process to eradicate your algae.
What kind of filter do you have?
Do you have the fine pleated filters for your dolphin?
Mud can be tricky. It ultimately needs tons of filter time, but sometimes that keeps it stirred up too so you need to shut off the pump and let it settle again before vacuuming whatever settled to waste.
IMO robots aren't designed for heavy debris and pale in comparison to an old skool manual vac during a regular opening, much less a disaster opening. Once the pool is clean, then the tradeoff is likely worth the effort saved with the robot.
IMO robots aren't designed for heavy debris and pale in comparison to an old skool manual vac during a regular opening, much less a disaster opening. Once the pool is clean, then the tradeoff is likely worth the effort saved with the robot.
Thanks for the advice. I do have a handheld vac, so that does seem like the best/cheapest path forward. I dumped some chlorine into the pool in the aftermath and circulated it with a submersible. Hopefully that helped take care of some of the organic matter. I'll plan to SLAM it once opened.
I have a Jandy cartridge filter for the pool, and yes, I have the pleated filters for the dolphin.
I have a Jandy cartridge filter for the pool, and yes, I have the pleated filters for the dolphin.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,993
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
There’s alot of cartridge rinsing in your future!
If you think theres any larger debris you may want to add an inline “leaf catcher” to your hose to prevent clogging as you vac to waste.
You can also rent a trash pump at Home Depot etc. to vac to waste the bulk of the debris and keep it completely out of your plumbing. * If you have a vinyl liner you must be careful that you use a head that won’t suction to the liner as trash pumps are powerful - you would also need to finagle together a hose that won’t collapse.
That said many have cleaned up situations such as this with just the plain ole vac head & waste option of their equipment.
If you think theres any larger debris you may want to add an inline “leaf catcher” to your hose to prevent clogging as you vac to waste.
You can also rent a trash pump at Home Depot etc. to vac to waste the bulk of the debris and keep it completely out of your plumbing. * If you have a vinyl liner you must be careful that you use a head that won’t suction to the liner as trash pumps are powerful - you would also need to finagle together a hose that won’t collapse.
That said many have cleaned up situations such as this with just the plain ole vac head & waste option of their equipment.
Definitely agree.... good old handheld pole vac to waste is the way to go. Be patient, and you'll probably be adding more water by the time most of the mud is gone. Try not to stir. The robot vac filters don't have enough volume to hold the amount of mud it sounds like you have.....mine came with two filter mesh options. When you get 90% of the mud out, then try the robot vac....but pull and clean the filters often.
We had another round of flooding this past week, so now I have a layer of dirt on the bottom of the pool in addition to cloudy water. Here's a picture after I brushed a portion of the top step. It moves pretty easily when brushed. We do not have a multiport valve to vacuum to waste, but do have a garden hose spigot after the pump. Is this enough to vacuum to waste? I worry that a 2" waste vac will empty half the water by the time I am finished. The pool is 24k gallons.
Lake Placid
In The Industry
- May 27, 2021
- 693
- Pool Size
- 17000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
How is your spigot plumbed? Pics would help. You should really vac to waste to rid the mud, but it’s likely even though you have a spigot designed to pump down the pool, a lot of your water will return to the filter clogging the carts if you try to vac to waste using the spigot.
Here's the spigot. I think I am going to remove the cartridges from the filter and then use the drain port with some 4" flex pipe to dump the water. Regarding mitigation, yes, we've put in a dry well, added some swales to move water to the front but we still were overrun after 1" in 2 hours. I think we are seeing conservatively 50-100 gallons per minute coming towards the pool with that rain rate. So much for a "flat" yard. Pool was unfortunately built in the natural swale, and pool builder didn't advise against. Live and learn I guess. For the future, is it possible to plumb in a multiport valve between the pump and filter?
Lake Placid
In The Industry
- May 27, 2021
- 693
- Pool Size
- 17000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
You definitely could pull the carts and vac to waste as much as possible. You’ll still get some dirt returning to the pool, but you’d get some removal. It may take a couple of cycles of vaccuming, and letting it settle then revacuuming.
With a little replumbing from the pump union, you could drop in a 3 way valve pretty easily to give yourself a vac to waste option.
I ended up pulling the cartridges and the drain plug, then using a piece of 8' flex pipe to redirect the water away from the equipment. I vacuumed to waste until the waterline was below the skimmer. By then it was clean enough that I was able to refill and re-insert the cartridges. Refilled and then ran the filter for a few days. Everything was pretty clear by the third day. Then cleaned the cartridges and was ready to go for the year. Thanks for the advice everyone.
